Mars Exploration Space Exploration & Science Missions NASA

Perseverance drives 28.10 miles on Mars, surpassing Opportunity’s off-world distance record

NASA’s Perseverance rover reached 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers) driven on Mars on Oct. 11, edging past the 28.06-mile (45.16-kilometer) record set by Opportunity, which operated from 2004 to 2018. The milestone reflects the role of autonomous navigation in traversing the Martian surface.

Discovered 2026-10-12T15:10:38.062051-07:00 | 2026-10-12T15:10:38.062051-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Perseverance has surpassed the longest distance driven by any vehicle on another world, extending the benchmark set by Opportunity.
The record highlights autonomous navigation’s role in enabling a rover to cover ground on Mars, where direct operation from Earth is constrained by distance.

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New York Times interestingengineering.com science.nasa.gov